Stroked Ford 418ci V8 - We've Got To Have Morrre Power, Captain!

In the February '05 issue of CCT we published the first segment of a tech story where speed shop, Speed O' Motive, began the process of building a stroked Ford 351 Windsor engine. This issue we continue with the assembly of the stroked 418ci Ford and offer a few professional build tips from one of Speed O' Motive's engine builders, Bill Bassett.

2/76Over the past weeks Speed O' Motive machined the rotating assembly to balance each piston to within 1/2 gram (about the weight of a dollar bill). To speed up our time in the shop, all but one of the JE pistons and rods were installed in the block.

The primary reason we've pursued this engine buildup is to demonstrate the significantly more powerful alternative to a typical crate engine. We believe that by carefully selecting an affordable list of aftermarket parts, you can build and install an engine that will deliver an exceptional amount of power and reliability for a rather reasonable price. Another more personal reason is that we've never owned a stroked Ford engine and wanted to experience what is typically the domain of the higher- performance street machine or race car.

It was a pleasant learning experience watching a professional engine builder assemble our machined rotating assembly, oiling system, aluminum Holley heads and carburetor, and Weiand intake manifold. We photographed each step and listened attentively as Bill explained the details that will result in the greatest amount of performance and reliability this stroked engine is capable of producing. One piston-assembly tip was rotating the piston rings away from the thrust-side of the pistons to prevent a loss of compression. Another little tip was using a single-edge razor blade to cut the bottom ends from the front cover gasket: to help prevent even a small oil leak from around the oil pan gasket.

Among the aftermarket parts used in this segment is an extremely competent oiling system of Melling oil pump, oil pump shaft, plus an anodized Milodon oil pan and windage tray-as well as all the bottom-end gaskets. Of course all the proper assembly lubes and gasket sealer were applied to each part as it was assembled. The last thing any engine builder wants to hear is the tick-tick-tick of a cylinder head leak or witness a drop of oil escaping from the oil pan gasket.

Follow along as we watch a professional assemble our potent little powerplant. And look for the next segment when we will focus on a series of dynamometer tests to see precisely how many horses and how much torque this small-block Ford engine will produce.